After eighteen months of twists and turns that kept the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago glued to their TV sets, Chairman of the Commission of Enquiry into Public Sector Procurement Practices, the Construction Sector and UDeCOTT, Professor John Uff delivered his much anticipated report to the President. In a short and unprecedented press conference Uff stated :
"1.I am pleased to say that the remaining Commissioners, Desmond Thornhill and myself, delivered the report of the Commission of Enquiry into the Construction Sector, Trinidad & Tobago, to His Excellency the President at 10:00 am this morning.This brings to an end the long saga of this Enquiry which started, so far as I am concerned, in July 2008, was the subject of meetings in September and December 2008 and of four hearing sessions between 12 January and 9 December 2009.The Commission as originally appointed had four members.The Report was eventually compiled by two of us who nevertheless constitute a quorum in accordance with the terms of our Commission.
2.While the press and public will have to wait for the Report to be published by the Government, I can only express the hope that, when published, you will find that it fairly and comprehensively deals with the many issues which have been raised before us, in a balanced and unbiased manner.As required by our Commission, the Report contains extensive recommendations relating to the construction industry in general, to UDeCOTT and other Government agencies and to the Parties involved in the Cleaver Heights Housing Project.There are a total of 91 recommendations addressed to the attainment of value for money, delivery of high standards of workmanship, free and fair competition and the maintenance of integrity and transparency in the public procurement practice.
3.I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to many people whose contributions have been essential to keeping the show on the road.First Judith Gonzalez who took over as Secretary before the first working session of the Enquiry and remained the focal point for receipt and dissemination of the many documents and submissions which came into the Enquiry from December 2008, the last being received, appropriately from a Government Minister, only 11 days ago.She kept us all provided with the right documents and managed the large team at theWinsureBuilding engaged in copying and disseminating the documents.We are grateful for her patience and good humour and that of all the backroom staff at the WinsureBuilding including those who kept us fed and watered throughout the 9 weeks of Hearings.
4.We also express our appreciation for the expert and timely legal advice and services provided by our team of Counsel led by Seenath Jairam SC and Junior Counsel Garvin Simonette, Ian Roach and Kerwyn Garcia instructed by Marvo Harper and Doril Ann Lamont.Thanks are also due to Kathleen Mohammed and the team of transcribers who produced accurate and timely transcripts of all the Hearings.
5.I would like to thank all the Parties who participated in the Enquiry.I am aware that many, in fact most participants retained Counsel or Attorneys at their own personal costs, reflecting the serious interest which this Enquiry has generated, not only within the construction industry but among groups and individuals served by the construction industry.Without their contribution the Enquiry and our Report would be the poorer.
6.We would like to pay tribute to our colleague Kenneth Sirju who sat with us throughout the Enquiry Hearings until the last Hearing into CleaverHeights from which he recused himself for reasons which are well known.Regrettably UDeCOTT saw fit to mount accusations against Kenneth Sirju alleging conflicts of interest arising from a number of projects that his firm had been involved with over the years preceding this Enquiry.Those accusations were only finally dismissed in the High Court on 5 March this year.But as a result of the accusations being raised, we decided that Kenneth could not take part in the deliberations and the drawing up of the Report which took place from September 2009 onwards. It is not the case, as reported in the press this morning, that Mr Sirju resigned as a Commissioner. But since Mr Sirju was unable to take part in the drawing up of the Report, it has been compiled and signed only by myself and Desmond Thornhill.We wouldboth like to express our complete confidence in Kenneth Sirju’s integrity and professionalism and our regret that it was ever questioned.
7.The last press conference of the Commission was held on 7 September 2009, shortly after the revelation that none of the Commissions had been gazetted, and in the result that the Enquiry had no statutory validity.At that point it appeared that the Enquiry, which had been completed as far as the original Terms of Reference, might remain in a legal limbo for an indefinite period.It would have seemed rash to predict that only 6 months later the Enquiry would be back on a proper legal footing,the hearings completed and the Report written and delivered.I would like to put on record that the impetus for validating the Enquiry and forallowing us to drive the proceedings forward to a conclusion came from the Hon Attorney General, John Jeremie who acted with speed and determination in putting legislation before Parliament which has now validated the Enquiry proceedings and allowed us to bring the process to a conclusion.
8.Finally we would like to thank the Press for their continued and expert coverage of the Enquiry; and the public for their unflagging interest in the proceedings.There are few countries in the world where an Enquiry into the construction industry could fill a prime time television slot for over a year.For me it has been a unique experience and I am personally honoured to have had the opportunity, as I hope, to serve the interests of the construction industry and the people of Trinidad & Tobago."
Much skepticism continues in Trinidad and Tobago as to whether this report will be made public given the track record of the Government in failing so to do. When interviewed by reporters yesterday, Mr. Victor Hart Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute and also former commissioner in the notorious Piarco Commission of Enquiry stated :
"The euphoria surrounding the delivery of the Uff Report to President Richards reminds me of the delivery of the Bernard Report on the Piarco Airport Enquiryon 30 August 2003 to President Richards by Chairman Clinton Bernard, Commissioners Keith Sirju, Marie Ange Knights and Victor Hart. Absent was Commissioner Peter Bynoe who died during the enquiry.
Like the Uff Enquiry, the Piarco Enquiry was televised live and generated much public interest. As with the Uff Report, there was hope that the Piarco Report would be laid in Parliament and published in quick time. Prime Minister Manning then promised to do just that after the report had been ‘sanitized’. Today, six years plus later the report is yet to see the light of day. What distresses me as a Commissioner who gave 16 months of public service on the enquiry and saw millions of taxpayers dollars spent are (a) the public’s right to know has been denied and (b) the recommendations in the report have not been aired and considered for adoption. I am convinced that had some of the recommendations of the Piarco Enquiry been adopted, the wastage of many millions of dollars of public money through mismanagement and corruption could have been avoided during the last six years. Even the need for holding of the Uff Enquiry might have been avoided."
Given the Piarco Report experience and noting the fate of the Gafoor Report on the Health Sector and the Sirju Report of the Caroni Bridge Collapse, I was skeptical about the publication of the Uff Report. I was concerned that the country would not get value for money from this expensive enquiry by being denied sight of the report’s recommendations on public sector procurement reform, construction sector reforms and any call that might be made for further investigations into apparent misbehavior by some persons holding public office. However, I now am confident that civil society is sufficiently alive to these issues that it will not allow the same fate to befall the Uff Report. Nonetheless, the situation calls for vigilance by civil society and a willingness to make its voices heard if there is any undue delay in publication.
